Painters Greenhouse, Old Fort

Sprawled across more than 200,000 square feet of retail greenhouses, Painters Greenhouse shelters nearly 700 varieties of flora, all cultivated start-to-finish by a staff of knowledgeable green thumbs. Retiring from their 320-acre farm in Pennsylvania a few years ago, owners Brad and Deenie Owen sojourned to North Carolina to helm Painters Greenhouse, where they aim to increase the production of native plants, vegetables, and water garden plants—all with sustainability in mind. Their vast inventory of perennials, annuals, herbs, and shrubs is joined by an impressive variety of native species—plant life that occurs in the area naturally and is beneficial to the local ecosystem. Blooming baskets and potted ferns mingle with decorative planters and space-saving gardening containers, while aquatic plants provide good hiding spots for squirrels scuba-diving inside Painters' decorative fountains.